Alex Neil insisted Norwich City will not be held to ransom in their pursuit of a proven Championship striker.
Fulham's Ross McCormack remains firmly in the Canaries' sights, amid reports the Cottagers are trying to strike a hard bargain for the prolific £12m-rated Scottish international, but Neil is not prepared to wait forever.
'I have stressed we have to get a decision one way or the other and that is the point we are reaching now,' he said, after City's 3-0 friendly win over Coventry City on Tuesday night. 'Like always you move on if it doesn't happen. We can't let it run on. I want to get my work done but the window is also open until August. We are at that point now where people have got to make decisions and depending on what those are will dictate whether we move on or not.
'I am trying my best. I am hoping soon as possible we are trying to get someone in. We are prepared to pay the going rate. You look at what people have to pay for strikers and pretty much every striker we have been quoted for this summer the figures are in and around that mark. You want to make sure you get the goals for that type of money.
'The market has gone crazy at the moment. There is a left back from Liverpool who has just gone to Bournemouth for £6m. If that is a left back then what are strikers worth? (Andre) Gray went into Burnley for £7m plus another £2m and that was last year before the hike in terms of the television money. You either join in or get left behind.'
Neil also made it clear Jacob Murphy is not for sale, after a cheeky approach from Reading.
'I don't why they got made public because these things happen regularly,' he said. 'I would imagine that has come from Reading's side but it doesn't interrupt anything we are doing. None of them are for sale and they will remain here and hopefully keep developing.'
The Scot will decide on Vadis Ofoe's short-term future in the next few days after interest from Legia Warsaw.
'It really determines if they get to the level we deem is acceptable or not,' he said. 'They are not quite there yet so if they don't it won't happen. We are still talking a loan, they haven't intimated it is a permanent but like everything else it comes down to finance.'
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